Pediatric, OB/GYN and Internal Medicine Referrals: What a Complete Referral Needs
Quick answer
A complete referral gives the specialist what they need to triage and book without a phone call. For pediatrics, OB/GYN and internal medicine, that usually means a specific question, the patient’s contact and health card details, and the few results each specialty relies on most. Each specialist should define their own list, and missing items should be requested from the referring office the same day the referral arrives.
What does every referral need?
Patient name, date of birth, health card number and current contact details
Referring provider and how to reach their office
A specific reason for referral, or question for the specialist
Relevant history and a current medication list
Results and reports the specialist needs to triage, attached rather than described
Pediatrics
Child’s age and a parent or guardian’s contact details
The specific concern and how long it has been present
Growth measurements or charts when growth, feeding or weight is the concern
Developmental or school observations when development or behaviour is the concern
Relevant prior tests and treatments tried
Obstetrics and gynecology
Pregnancy referrals: estimated due date or gestational age, relevant obstetric history and available prenatal results or ultrasound reports
Gynecology referrals: the specific concern, relevant imaging and screening results, and treatments tried
Contact preferences, especially for sensitive referrals
Internal medicine
A clear question for the consultant, not just a diagnosis
Recent bloodwork and imaging relevant to that question
A current medication list
Other specialists involved in the patient’s care
How should missing information be requested?
Name the exact missing item, not “more information”.
Ask the same day the referral arrives, through the channel it came from.
Track the request and follow up automatically if it isn’t answered.
Let the referring office know when the referral is complete and accepted.
Every delay adds to a long wait. The Fraser Institute’s 2024 survey reported a median of about 15 weeks between a GP referral and the specialist consultation in Canada, and the Canadian Institute for Health Information tracks access and wait times across the country.
How do you keep urgent referrals moving?
Missing paperwork should never hold up a referral your physicians would want to see quickly. Let your physicians define which findings go straight to physician review, even while information is still being requested, and apply that rule to every referral.
Key takeaways
Every referral needs a clear question, contact details and the key results.
Let each specialist define their own completeness list.
Request the specific missing item the same day, and track it.
Urgent findings go to physician review regardless of missing paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
Who decides what counts as complete?
Each specialist, with their colleagues. Staff and software should apply those criteria consistently, not invent them.
Should incomplete referrals be declined?
Many clinics request the missing item first, so the patient doesn’t start over. Whatever your policy, apply it consistently and tell the referring office.
Can one clinic use different checklists for different specialists?
Yes. In a multi-specialty clinic each specialist can have their own criteria, applied automatically based on who the referral is routed to.
This article is about administrative workflow, not medical advice. In every clinic, physicians own the clinical criteria, urgency rules and triage decisions.
How Ample helps
Ample checks every referral against the criteria your specialists set, whether that’s pediatrics, OB/GYN, internal medicine or another specialty, requests the exact missing item from the referring office and tracks it until it arrives.
Ample is built in Canada for specialty, multi-specialty and family medicine clinics. Patient data is stored and processed in Canada, Ample is PHIPA and PIPA compliant for clinics in Ontario and British Columbia, and it works with Accuro, OSCAR Pro, PS Suite, Med Access, Juno and virtually any other EMR. More than 100 clinics use it today. Book a 30-minute walkthrough to see it with your own referrals and calls.
